Spice Market London

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As soon as you walk through the door of this two level restaurant with 24 meter long spice cabinets, you know you are going to have a fun time and are in for a real treat.

February 2011 saw Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten open this eclectic new restaurant in the futuristic looking new W Hotel in Leicester Sqaure.

We received a warm greeting from the very friendly and excellent staff and asked if we would like to have a drink at the bar first. We had a choice of sitting at the bar or at a small cocktail table, we opted for the cocktail table. We loved the cool bar though which is long and split in two with a large mirror that covers the far wall and gives the illusion that the bar is much longer than it really is. Spice Market has a nice little cocktail menu and we started with a Blood Orange Bellini and glass of 2007 Sterling Chardonnay from Napa Valley, one of my favourites (at £12 a glass/£49 a bottle) but only after some knowledgeable advice and guidance from the Sommelier.

There is a real feeling of cosiness and you can either sit at the booths downstairs or the more traditional tables upstairs. We preferred upstairs with its open kitchen and comfy circular Sofas. But if it’s a romantic dinner you may prefer to be downstairs. Be sure to check out the gold mesh screened windows, brass birdcage spiral stairs and 600 specially designed lights which are in fact upside down Woks!

Priscilla our delightful and professional waitress explained that the dishes are designed for sharing and suggested we choose two starters and two mains. So first up was delicious Crab Dumplings with sugar snap peas and aromatic spices. We accompanied that with the Salmon Sashimi, which arrived on warm crunchy rice, Chipotle Emulsion and spring onion. An excuse to use my chop sticks! So on to the mains and we chose the Steamed Haddock with Shiitake mushrooms, ginger and spring onion tarragon. The ginger gave it a little kick. Finally and by no means least, as it was, we agreed the best, we had the most amazing Vietnamese Chicken Curry and ordered some Ginger fried rice to go with it with an egg on the top, which we were advised to all mix together before serving. Not being a huge curry fan even I was surprised just how good it was! They also do a Grilled Rib Eye if you fancy something more substantial.

The desserts sounded exotic so we tried the Thai Jewels and Fruits with crushed coconut ice which was really quite refreshing and sweet and also shared the very tasty Ovaltine Kulfi with a caramelised banana and spiced chocolate sauce. We were then very kindly given a Cookie bag each to take home containing their delicious Peanut Butter, Ginger Oatmeal and Coconut Chip cookies. They went perfectly with my mid-morning coffee the next day!

Spice Market has an impressive wine list including a good range available by the glass. They also have a whole page of Sparkling and Champagnes. I noted wines from South America, France, California, Oregon, Washington State, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany. I however stuck with my Sterling Chardonnay for my meal as I love it and my guest had a 2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis ‘Terroir de Courgis’ from Burgundy. I should also add that they have a choice of 4 Sakés.

Opening times: Breakfast from 7am to 11am Monday to Friday; 8am to 11:30am Weekends. Lunch / Dinner from 12noon to 11pm Sunday to Wednesday; 12noon to 11:30pm from Thursday to Saturday.